FILM REVIEW
THE DRAMA
Rated R
106 Minutes
Released April 3rd
The Drama is a study of the expectations, love, fear, loneliness, and anger that can hide beneath the face we show to the world. This is a careful look into the window of the souls of two people who care about each other.
The narrative may not be linear in time, but it is so in relevance. We see glimpses of the characters’ actions and reactions to events and people at various points in their lives. The movie plays like a poem, offering visions into each character’s personality. In some places, there is more dialogue than is needed.
The music and soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton set the emotional impact here. You probably won’t notice it because the composer is so skilled at infusing music into each scene almost subliminally. Songs are chosen with careful sensitivity. Sound is very important in this movie. I won’t say more, just be aware of the sounds.
There is a key character reveal that surfaces midway through the story that changes the whole emotional path. It involves a terrifying decision by a troubled teen, which has now become a high point of newsworthy deep discussion born from this film, and that engagement is a positive. We come to identify with the character who makes this choice, so the act becomes all the more personal to each of us.
The two main characters are “Emma,” played by Zendaya, and “Charlie,” played by Robert Pattinson. This is one of the best performances of Zendaya’s career, as she plays someone real and unsettled, with both very dark and light sides to her psyche. She is the heartbeat of the story, with the magnetism and the warmth that the others seem magnetically drawn to, even when she seems to be the most unnerved. She is the one who has the strength and courage to face her own demons. Also watch for young Jordyn Curet, who plays Emma’s teen self with a brilliant performance. The two versions of Emma merge beautifully.
Zendaya has the life experience to handle a role like Emma. She had a hard time fitting in at school as a child, as her dad is of Nigerian ancestry and her mom is German and Scottish. She was so shy that her teacher suggested she repeat kindergarten to try to build her confidence.
She found her passion outside of the classroom in dance and singing. At the age of 8, she joined a hip hop dance group and worked with her mom at the California Shakespeare Theatre. She won a role on a Disney series, and she hasn’t stopped working in TV and film since. She also makes time to be a charity ambassador. Zendaya describes Emma as “someone who is desperately seeking to belong and fit in. From childhood, she’s been somebody who never quite found their tribe or community.”
Charlie is a character on edge throughout the entire story. He needs desperately to unlock something from his past, but we never find out what that is. He absolutely overthinks everything, making him nerve-wracking to watch, especially knowing that he and Emma are about to marry after dating for just a short time.
Pattinson is a British actor who achieved fame in The Twilight saga as “Edward Cullen.” As a child, he wanted to play guitar and piano, thinking he would become a musician. But he, too, was shy, and a teacher urged him to enroll in the school drama club. Pattinson is very particular about the films and roles he chooses. Here, he embodies the role of Charlie with an almost painful awkwardness.
Emma and Charlie join their married friends Rachel and Mike (Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athi) in a tipsy encounter that becomes a confessional roundtable, and Rachel challenges them to name the worst thing they’ve ever done. This is where the jaw-dropping, horrific act is described by one of them, an act totally out of character, although it was never consummated.
The Drama is the second feature by director Kristoffer Borgli, who grew up in a suburb of Oslo, Norway. As a teen, he was an avid skateboarder, and he worked for several years in a video store, which inspired his interest in filmmaking. Borgli’s darkly Scandinavian sense of humor pervades this movie, and admittedly, it’s difficult for most Americans to process that sensibility.
You may squirm emotionally at parts, but the film’s dark, somber aura makes more sense once you know the director is Norwegian. I can feel the spirit of Ingmar Bergman lurking throughout.
This film asks the question “Can people change?’ which has been a philosophical deep dive since the days of Plato and Aristotle. Wherever this movie leads your thoughts, you will probably be asking what drives our anger and loneliness to turn to frightening actions, and how can we intercept before that action is taken.
In director Borgli’s words, “We all carry parts of ourselves that we keep hidden…things that we worry might change how others see us, even though they fundamentally shape who we are…It feels very risky to share deep truths with anyone, and that tension fascinates us.”
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com.
